After initially saying he planned to retire (again) at the end of 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger extended that deadline to 2026 last year. And don’t expect to hear much about who will replace him in that role before that time.
Disney, on Monday, announced it would name Iger’s successor in early 2026, which is later than many observers were expecting. That will give the board extra time to vet candidates, something that could prove beneficial after what happened with the selection of Bob Chapek as CEO in 2020. (The board fired Chapek two years later, and Iger returned to the role, saying one of his goals would be to find a suitable successor.)
James Gorman, who was named the new chairman of the board at Disney, made the announcement on Monday, saying in a statement, “A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026. This timing reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026.”
Who will take over the entertainment giant is still a mystery—and there’s always the possibility of a wild-card candidate coming in from outside the company. (It’s also worth noting that Iger delayed his departure three times in his first tenure as CEO from 2005 to 2020.) That said, Iger’s four direct reports have all reportedly met with the succession committee, making each a leading candidate for the job. Here’s a look at who’s who.
Alan Bergman
As cochair of Disney Entertainment, Bergman oversees the company’s media and content business, specifically Disney Animation, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight. He also is in charge of the group behind the company’s live theatrical productions.
He joined Disney in 1996 and has held a number of senior leadership roles at Walt Disney Studios, helping to integrate several major acquisitions, including Pixar, Marvel, and Fox. His close ties with Hollywood (he represents the company on the Motion Picture Association board of directors and is a member of both the Television Academy and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) could work in his favor, as Iger has always taken pride in his relationship with Hollywood power players and stars.
Josh D’Amaro
Second to Iger, D’Amaro is one of the most public faces for the company, making him a strong candidate for the CEO job. As chairman of Disney Experiences, D’Amaro oversees the company’s theme parks and Walt Disney Imagineering, which is the creative lifeblood behind the rides and other activities. He also is in charge of the company’s cruise line, which currently has five ships in its fleet, with four more on the way, and Disney Consumer Products. All totaled, he heads a team of 180,000 employees and is leading the company’s 10-year, $60 billion expansion of park attractions, new lands, and more.
D’Amaro, who often appears alongside Iger at major events, joined Disney in 1998, working at the Disneyland Resort. He was in charge of the reimagination of Epcot and has previously served as CFO for Disney Consumer Products Global Licensing, among other roles, giving him a solid financial background as well as a strong working knowledge of one of the company’s most important divisions. (Chapek, it’s worth noting, also ran the parks division before he was named CEO, which could possibly work against D’Amaro.)
Jimmy Pitaro
Pitaro is Disney’s go-to person on sports. The chairman of ESPN, he handles the company’s sports content portfolio and is a key player behind the upcoming streaming service that will include content from ESPN, Fox, and TNT. That channel could prove to be a significant revenue generator for Disney, given the growing number of leagues that are offering streaming exclusives, but won’t do so in the immediate future as a federal judge has temporarily blocked the service. (Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have appealed that ruling.) Before making the jump over to ESPN, Pitaro was chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media.
Pitaro joined Disney in 2010 as copresident of Disney Interactive, the company’s gaming division. Prior to that he was head of media at Yahoo, where he guided strategy for Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Music.
Dana Walden
Walden serves as cochair of Disney Entertainment with Bergman. Her focus, however, is primarily on linear television, including ABC, FX, National Geographic, and Disney Branded television as well as Disney Television Studios. She has greenlit programs including The Handmaid’s Tale, Only Murders in the Building, 24, Bluey, and Shogun.
Variety has written that Walden has the leading edge in the race for CEO (as has CNBC), describing her as a “spiritual successor” for Iger. Working against her, though, is her lack of experience with the parks, film, and cruise divisions, which are all critical to the company. Her friendship with Kamala Harris could also hurt her chances, given the company’s recent pains to avoid any political entanglements after its long and very public battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. If she is chosen as CEO, however, she would be the company’s first female leader in its 100-year history.
